Dean, the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2007 season, has benefited from nearly ideal conditions in the Caribbean to become the first major hurricane of the season. This image of Hurricane Dean shows it as a powerful Category 4 hurricane as it was passing through the eastern Caribbean south of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The image was taken by the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (or TRMM) satellite at 13:45 UTC (9:45 am EDT) on the 18th of August 2007 and shows the horizontal pattern of rain intensity within Dean. Rain rates in the center of the swath are from the TRMM PR, and those in the outer swath come from the TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI). The rain rates are overlaid on infrared (IR) data from the TRMM Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS). A well-defined eye (small dark center) marks the center of Dean. This is immediately surrounded by a small, tight band of very intense rain to the north and west that is part of the eyewall (innermost dark red arc). The eyewall is surrounded by outer rain bands (wider green and red arcs indicating moderate to heavy rain). The sharp curvature of these rain features means that Dean's circulation is well-developed and very strong. At the time of this image, Dean's maximum sustained winds were estimated at 130 knots (150 mph) by the National Hurricane Center. Dean intensified into a very powerful Category 5 storm in the western Caribbean as it bore down on the Yucatan Peninsula. So far Dean has been responsible for 12 deaths across the Caribbean.



TRMM IMAGES OF DEAN 13-23 AUGUST 2007
Click to see higher resolution.

SEE earlier hurricane DEAN story "TROPICAL STORM DEAN STRENGTHENS IN THE ATLANTIC"

TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese space agency JAXA.

Images and animations produced by Hal Pierce (SSAI/NASA GSFC) and caption by Steve Lang (SSAI/NASA GSFC)